After winning a BAFTA for best leading actress, Cate Blanchett did so publicly.

"I would like to dedicate this to an actor who has been a continual, profound touchstone for me," she said in her acceptance speech. "A monumental presence who is now so sadly in absence: the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman."

Blanchett, 44, who co-starred with Hoffman in the 1999 film "The Talented Mr. Ripley," was photographed visiting Hoffman's longtime partner, Mimi O'Donnell, and his three children in the days after his death. When asked about her emotional speech, she explained why she made it.

"I don't think I'm alone in the room, having been profoundly influenced by Phil and his body of work, but also who he was as a person," she said. "He was a most extraordinary friend to so many people and his influence... time will tell how deep it was. If I could be half the actor he was in his unfortunately short life, I would be very happy."